How do sub-clans/qabiils start?

I can trace trace my lineage to five sub clans and within that last sub clan I can trace about ten awoowes back to him .

Hell my immediate family going back to my great grandfather in most likely in the nine hundred to thousand mark. ( rough estimate but they’re deep )


it ain’t that hard saxiib View attachment 363437
Mathematical oddity. How does your great grandfather have a thousand descendants? mine has at most 130-150 if I got my maths right.
 

NidarNidar

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Mathematical oddity. How does your great grandfather have a thousand descendants? mine has at most 130-150 if I got my maths right.
Impossible, the average is 30 for the larger clan, and dates back to about 800-900 years ago, some of the larger clans practice telescoping.

"Over time, the parameters of inclusion undergo alterations, whereby sub-lineages may evolve into lineages. This is attributable to the fluctuations in the growth and decline of lineages and clans. As time progresses and demographic changes transpire, new units may emerge (diverge) from pre-existing ones, while earlier entities are condensed, a process that involves concentrating attention exclusively on prominent individuals within one's genealogical framework often referred to as 'Telescoping'."
 

Bahal

ʜᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ
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no. the average today counts anywhere from 6(lower end) to 8 or even 9(higher end). farmajo counts seven. we dont count his name and we dont count diini. we count the ancestors between him and ugaas diini.
Cabdullaahi , Maxamed, Diirshe, Shiil, Cabdille, Allamagan, Dalal

I count seven too :icon lol:

No more Adeer accusations, ileen hes my cousin :icon lol:
 
My lowest politically viable 'reer' I count to in 7 generations. This grouping of mine has been around since perhaps my grandfather or great-grandfather's time. Something about the 5-10 generation paternal grouping makes sense sociologically. Small enough to alleviate concerns but large sufficient to pool manpower and funds together in times of conflict. Factor in the nomadic lifestyle, where many groups ranged further and further away from their original homelands in search of pasture, and this process can be sped up even further.

My next reer is only one generation above where the three sons of my ancestor each have their own reer. In my case, these clans live together in a semi-nomadic way of life on the river Dawa, so geographic distances aren't far at all. These brother reers support each other as their is a plurality of other Somali qabils in the area. But day to day we claim our lower reers.

As others mentioned above, numerical numbers may necessitate lineages who haven't prospered to cling to older lineage groups for safety reasons. While newer, more lively lineages that through spouts of good luck and plenty of sons and success can politically claim rather new lineages as they have the manpower to back it.

Through is in the same qabil you can have A(the father)-B(son1)-C(son2).

A(father lineage)
B(son sub lineage)
C(son sub lineage)


C's lineage splits initially into 3 subclans

A
B
C
D(sub lineage of c)
E(sub lineage of c)
F(sub lineage of c)

This process often I've notice when it starts continues, so sublineages often produce more sublineages.

A
B
C
D
E
H(H-E-C-A line of decent)
F
I(I-F-C-A line of decent)
J(youngest sublineage J-F-C-A line of descent)

Notice how the sublineages of C continue to atomize, forming their own lineages while lineage B still remains as a whole group. This kind of lineage freeze can be observed in a smaller form within the subgroups of lineage C, as lineage E and F continue to subdivide, their brother lineage D remains as one group. By this process of lineages splitting, you can have some subclans further down the lineage and others near the top be nearly equal in size.
 
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Yes, it depends on the number of descendants and their offspring. Over time, these groups may separate from their brothers for various reasons — perhaps due to disputes over tribal leadership, internal conflicts, or because the land’s resources can no longer sustain the entire group and their livestock. When such divisions occur, the offshoot group often adopts the name of their immediate common ancestor and becomes recognized as a sub-clan of the larger clan.

For example, the Majeerteen sub-clan branched off from the Harti clan. Over time, they developed a distinct identity and no longer identified themselves simply as Harti clan. To avoid confusion and to affirm their new identity, they adopted the name of their founding patriarch, becoming known as Majeerteen sub-clan, though genealogically they remain part of the broader Harti lineage.

In contrast, smaller clans often retain their original name and resist fragmentation. This is typically due to their limited numbers; unity offers them strength and protection against being dominated by larger, more numerous clans.

For instance, within the Hiraab clan, the Mudulood sub-clan expanded and produced sub-sub-clans like Abgaal and Wacdaan, while the Madarkicis sub-clan similarly branched into independent sub-sub-clans such as Ceyr, Sufadle, and Suleiman. However, the Duduble sub-clan have largely maintained their cohesion and are still referred to collectively by their original name. This preservation of unity is a conscious choice in many cases, aimed at maintaining political relevance and social strength.

This dynamic — balancing expansion with cohesion — is a central feature of tribal societies.

View attachment 363439
That whole tree don’t make sense to me tf is aji and why darood and dir come from it
 
The more boys you have, the more successful you'll be. For example, when they say Samaroon is Gadabuursi, but not all Gadabuursi are Samaroon, it is due to clan dynamics in antiquity, due to war and famine, some branches were more successful, eventually trying to change the name of the clan, eventually it was changed back.

Most clans don't assimilate groups, but they are more fluid groups within the Somali identity.

View attachment 363434
How does assimilation happen are they adopted kids or something
 

NidarNidar

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That whole tree don’t make sense to me tf is aji and why darood and dir come from it
Aji was Dir(Abu-Bakr) and Dagale's father; Darood married Dagale's daughter, Dombira, most likely a post-Islamic identity. The Darood are Somalis; there is no major Semitic paternal ancestry in Somalis in post-Islamic history.
 
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